


First Steps on a New Path

by GuileandGall



Series: Diary of a Nobody [2]
Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: Dancing, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Mother's Day, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 10:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24349270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuileandGall/pseuds/GuileandGall
Summary: Leah’s mother finally agrees to her entreaties about rejoining the world after her father’s death. But the traditional Mother’s Day Brunch hosted by the local Women’s Club does not go the way Leah planned.
Relationships: Deputy | Judge/John Seed, Female Deputy | Judge/John Seed
Series: Diary of a Nobody [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757959
Kudos: 11





	First Steps on a New Path

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me for I am an idiot. This kind of went off on its own tangent, and I let it go.

**Summary:** Leah’s mother finally agrees to her entreaties about rejoining the world after her father’s death. But the traditional Mother’s Day Brunch hosted by the local Women’s Club does not go the way Leah planned.

 **a/n:** Forgive me, for I am an idiot. This kind of went off on its own tangent, and I let it go.

**First Steps on a New Path**

Pops of color edged the drive and the perimeter of the quaint home. The temperate weather of May painted the Montana landscape in lush, vibrant verdancy. The ground held a darker hue thanks to the soft rain of the previous night.

With a low groan in her throat, Leah hurried up the front steps; her heels echoed off the wood porch. She pulled open the screen door, which let out a high-pitched screech, and hurried into her childhood home, hoping that she wouldn’t have to spend half the brunch escorting her mother through a shower and into suitable clothing. Since Leah’s father died in January, her mother had been in rough shape. She drove the three hours home the night before to make sure that her Ruthie Rook would not spend Mother’s Day alone. None of her brothers had been able to make the trip, so there was no way she could have missed this even if she’d spent the previous day running obstacle courses until her limbs felt like they might fall off.

Pushing open the front door, Leah froze. To say it surprised her to see her mother ready and waiting for her was an understatement. But her mother looked … well, like her old self. The pale dress bore a deep pink floral print and hit below her knees; she was also actually wearing sandals with a heel.

“Well, don’t just stand there lettin’ the bugs in,” Ruthie Rook said with a smile as she looked at her daughter.

“Sorry, Mama.” She kicked the door closed behind her and rushed across the living room and into the kitchen where her mother deposited her coffee cup in the sink. Leah took her mother by the shoulders and stared at her. She didn’t dare touch her hair, which was styled to perfection. “Are you wearing lipstick?” Leah whispered before she could stop the thought from rushing past her lips.

Ruthie pshawed and tapped her daughter on the hip. She turned right out of her daughter’s grip. “You’re just being silly.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. I just,” Leah said, slipping her hand into her mother’s and giving it a squeeze. “You look beautiful, Mama.”

“Thank you, dear. So do you,” she replied pinching her daughter’s chin.

Leah just laughed and wrapped her free arm around her mom. It had been so long since she’d seen her mother like this. Tears prickled at Leah’s green eyes at the feel of her mother’s arm wrapping around her, too.

“Come on now. We’re going to be late and you know how Louise likes to run a tight ship.” Ruthie gave Leah another tight squeeze then let go, though not of her daughter’s hand. She grabbed her purse off the table on the way out.

Leah waited on the stairs while her mother locked the door, then she offered the older woman her hand to help her down the steps safely.

“I love the color of that suit, Leah.”

“Thank you,” she replied, closing her mother’s car door. The suit had been an impulse buy, mainly because of the color—the salmon ensemble was anything but typical, even for Leah. Since entering law school, she’d leaned toward more somber shades. It seemed to be the expectation, and she didn’t want to rock the boat, yet.

“It’s so vibrant. I’m sure you’ll draw lots of attention.”

Leah relaxed in the seat but winced uncomfortably as she started the car. “That wasn’t the intention, Mama.” They pulled out of the long driveway when she mumbled an added, “I just thought it was pretty.”

“And that’s all that matters, dear,” Ruthie told her, reaching over to pat her daughter on the leg. Before sitting back, her mother switched the radio on.

Relief settled over Leah with the sound of the music. Her mother twisted the knob until she found the station she was looking for. The music’s harmony soothed, but once the young woman listened to the lyrics, she realized it was a religious channel. Some of the hymns she recognized from church, but others seemed a little odd. She couldn’t place them but said nothing to her mother about it since she was humming along and singing softly under her breath.

Leah could only be pleased with the shift in her mother. It was a far cry from the depression of the late winter and early spring. She shook those memories away before they could take root and darken the brightness that started the day.

Like every year since Leah could remember, the Hope County Women’s Club hosted the Mother’s Day Brunch at King’s Hot Springs Hotel. The big ballroom was about the only place in the county big enough to host the gathering, which had become incredibly popular.

“Would you like me to drop you off up front?” Leah offered as they pulled to the side of the road to inch into the parking lot with several other vehicles.

“Oh, no, dear. I’d rather walk in with you,” Ruthie told her, wearing a wide smile.

Leah could do nothing more than return it with visible joy. “Okay, Mama.” She couldn’t have hidden her pleasure if she’d wanted to. In fact, she was in a bit of a hurry to find a good spot in hopes that they wouldn’t be forced to trudge through the mud.

Men and women dressed in all white sweaters and trousers directed the traffic expertly, but Leah paid them little notice. She figured the Women’s Club finally realized how popular this event had gotten throughout the entire region and hired extra help. This function was the envy of multiple counties. People drove hours for this.

Once they were inside, another grin lit Leah’s face. As always, the hotel was decked in flowers of pink and white with bunting in complementary shades draped over anything that would stand still. The whole lobby smelled like spring because of the blooms. Women of all ages milled around with their families, most of them moving around or toward the ballroom doors, while others took the time to reunite with old friends and relatives.

Leah followed suit and strolled across the lobby with her mother toward the room where the brunch would be held.

“Mrs. Ruth.” The voice was not familiar to Leah, and she turned with surprise while her mother beamed. A tall lean made eased through the crowd toward them and her mother let go of Leah’s arm to hold out both her hands to the young man. He took her hands in his and bowed to press a kiss to her knuckles.

“John,” she said, touching one of his cheeks with her hand and pressing a kiss to the other. “It’s so good to see you.”

“I’m so pleased you could make it,” he confided, with his attention completely on Leah’s mother.

“As if I would miss this. I’ve been coming to this event since before you were even born.”

“I hardly believe that.” His smile read as genuine.

 _Smooth_ , Leah thought with a grin. Though she read it for the line that it was.

“Oh, John.” Ruthie slipped her hand under John’s elbow and led him a few steps closer. “Let me introduce you to my daughter. Leah, this is John Seed.” Her mother patted his forearm.

“Mr. Seed,” Leah replied, offering her hand to shake.

“Ah, the infamous Miss Rook. Please call me John.” He took her hand, turned it and brushed a velvety kiss on her knuckles. It was a genteel gesture that she hadn’t expected him to repeat with her as well. His bright blue eyes never flinched from her gaze the entire time he spoke to her.

Leah chuckled. “Not sure I’d use the word infamous.”

“I would beg to differ. Your mother is often singing your praises.”

She could feel the heat in her cheeks at the idea. Leah had no reply. “Well, then you have me at a great disadvantage. She hasn’t mentioned you.”

His other hand went to his chest and he finally looked away, glancing at her mother. “How could this be, Ruthie? My heart is breaking.”

“Oh, hush. The opportunity hadn’t presented itself before today,” she scolded.

John smiled at Leah, one that lit his eyes and made her breath catch in her throat. He was an attractive man, and well kempt. His hair and beard were coifed perfectly, and the blue of his button down brought out the color of his eyes. “Besides, I’m sure you two lovely women have so many better topics to chat about than me,” he said with a humbleness that didn’t quite read as sincere.

“That can’t possibly be true, little brother,” another man added as he walked up behind Leah’s mother.

“Mrs. Ruth. It’s so good to see you here,” the newcomer stated.

“Father,” Ruthie replied, releasing John’s arm to hug his brother.

“And you must be Leah. I’m Joseph.” He held out his hand.

Leah only then realized her hand was still in John’s, because she had to pull it out of his grip in order to shake his brother’s hand. “Pleased.” She glanced between the brothers for a moment, hoping her blush wasn’t as noticeable as it felt.

“Mrs. Ruth might I have the honor of escorting you into the brunch?”

“Oh, certainly, Father” her mother answered eagerly.

Meanwhile, John had moved to Leah’s side. The two of them just watched her mother walk of arm in arm with Joseph Seed.

“It would appear that we have both been abandoned most completely.”

Leah smiled and looked up at the taller man. “I’m not sure that is entirely true, sir.”

He met her grin with a warm one of his own. “And here, I’d dared not hope.” His voice lowered and took on a note of reverberating warmth.

“Are you always this smooth?” she asked with a laugh.

John’s smile widened, a quiet laugh on his lips. “All Southern gentlemen are,” he said as if that explained it entirely. “Perhaps you’d allow me.” He held his arm out for her.

Leah considered it for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. Then she smiled and slipped her arm around his. “Why, thank you. But do tell. How did a Southern gentleman end up quite so far up north?”

“The city proved too fast paced. My family and I wanted a change—complete and total.”

“Well, Hope County certainly does fit that bill.”

“Indeed. The country up here is beautiful and serene.”

Leah could feel his eyes on her even though she’d had to look away from his piercing baby blues. He looked at her with an intensity that ranged between stifling and inspiring. It was like he actually saw her, rather than just catching a glimpse. Like he could somehow read every single thought and memory in a glance.

“That it is. But I’m completely biased,” she added.

“You’ve lived here your whole life?”

“I have. Except for the time I spent at school in Missoula.”

John nodded, glancing away to ensure their path was clear to the door, though he did not move with any sense of urgency. “And you’ve been in Helena the last few months?”

Leah nodded; her smile remained on her lips but faded from her gaze.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” she insisted with a shake of her head. Her green eyes met his again. “I just—” One shoulder lifted in a halfhearted shrug as she looked for a word to fit the situation.

He stopped, laying his free hand over the one on his arm. “I was not kidding when I called you infamous. Your mother speaks of you often, and highly. Honestly, I feel like I know you. And I do apologize if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

Leah felt her mouth drop open in surprise. “Oh, not at all, John. I … it’s not something I really discuss all that often.”

“Shouldn’t a vocation be something a person is invested in?”

“I was. Am.” She sighed, her shoulders sinking a hair. “Life doesn’t always work out the way we plan.”

John’s smile crept over his lips. “Truer words have never been spoken. I went through something similar when I abandoned my law practice.”

“You’re a lawyer?”

“I am,” he confided with a telling smile. “Or I was. My life has led me in … new directions. Not unlike yourself.”

Leah couldn’t help but wonder at the statement. A lawyer who moved halfway across the country with his family. It didn’t seem too far a stretch from the situation that had prompted her own change in circumstances—family obligation and walking away from a dream.

He led her to the table where her mother was sitting and pulled out her chair for her. Once she was seated, he leaned against the back of her chair as his voice caressed her ear. “Perhaps you’ll be kind enough to save me a dance later.”

She nodded, with a wide bright smile. “Certainly. Thank you for the escort, John.”

“The pleasure was mine,” he said with a sincerity she could not question. He pressed his hand to his chest and bowed slightly before taking a step back and crossing the room. Leah couldn’t look away. His lean frame glided across the hardwood floor and he took a seat at a table next to his brother, the one she’d me earlier. She noticed a redheaded man with a scruffy beard and a young blonde woman at the table as well as several women of varying ages who were dressed in all white.

When a hand fell on her knee, Leah’s attention turned back to her own table. “He’s quite a striking young man,” her mother noted, wearing a smile that spoke volumes.

For the first time, Leah seemed to realize what might have just happened. “Is that why you didn’t want me to drop you at the door?” she asked on a whisper.

Her mother leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Don’t be upset. He’s a lawyer, you know?”

“He mentioned that,” Leah said tightly, embarrassment creeping over her from the tips of her ears to her toes. She could only image that she was probably a shade or five darker than her suit.

“I thought you might enjoy meeting someone with similar interests,” Ruthie explained.

“That’s sweet, Mama, but I don’t really think—”

“Oh, hush now. I saw the way he looked at you when we walked in.”

Leah’s cheeks blazed even hotter, and she raised her water glass to take a sip, hoping it might camouflage the reaction in some way. Or at least douse the heat of her embarrassment. “How do you know John?”

“Sunday services,” her mother replied.

The screech of a microphone cut their conversation short as the pageant began. It included speeches by the Women’s Club President Louise Anderson, the mayor of Deene—the county seat, and the group’s full scholarship recipient for the year. All the mothers in the room were celebrated and given lovely orchid corsages distributed by the teenagers in attendance. Finally, the pageant closed with a local dance troupe performing a sweet floral ballet accompanied by the string quartet, which continued to play throughout the remainder of the meal.

All told it was quite a special occasion and out shined some of the previous incarnations of the celebration. After the dessert service concluded, the string quartet gave way to someone’s curated playlist for the occasion. The dance floor filled with mothers and their children, husbands and wives, and anyone who could capture the beat or carry a tune, along with a few who couldn’t find either with a map or a flashlight.

Even Leah couldn’t resist the draw and managed to convince her mother to join her for a dance. The Rook women didn’t get more than one dance together, before the younger felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.

“May I?” a velvet tenor interrupted.

Leah felt the nerves tingle down her spine at the sound of his voice. Her mother’s smile widened happily. “Yes, of course,” Ruthie offered, giving her daughter’s hand a squeeze.

While the younger harbored no intentions of declining, it was something wholly different to have someone volunteer you. John, however, waited for Leah to place her hand in the one he held out toward her before considering his offer accepted. Once she did, John raised his hand and spun her, making her giggle as a blush rushed to her face at her reaction.

“I appreciate you saving me a dance,” he told her as his hand slid around her waist to the small of her back.

Leah laughed, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Well, you should be,” she teased with a mock seriousness in her tone. “With a dance card this full?” She shook her head, smiling up at him. “It was a _real_ struggle.”

His magnetic smile brought a bright sparkle to his eyes. It drew Leah in. “Oh, I’ve no doubt that you’ve got a string of admirers who would gladly trade take my place.”

She just smiled. “I’m sure the same is true for you.”

“Perhaps,” he replied. It was quick, curt, and made her feel like maybe that didn’t matter.

She knew it had to be her imagination running overtime. Leah knew her mother meant well, but the surprise Ruthie had dropped on her at the table rushed back to her mind when John pulled her a little closer. His cheek brushed her temple as the two of them moved in minute steps that carried them in a slow circular motion.

“Was this whole thing planned?” she asked quietly.

“What _whole thing_ might that be?” He leaned away and glanced down at her.

“Our introduction. Was it the whole reason my mother was so willing to do this, to come here?”

John’s gaze held hers unwaveringly. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“I mean,” Leah sighed. _What do I mean?_ “Mama refused to go with me to Easter services, and she shrank away from so many invitations this spring that I lost count. But suddenly she’s willing to come to the brunch, where she seems intent on setting me up with … you.”

The smile on his face turned almost shy, flattered. “If you’re asking if I was aware of that fact before she introduced us, I was not. Though she has mentioned you a number of times, and the fact that she would like us to meet.”

Another little sigh released some of the tension that had crept into Leah’s shoulders.

“Perhaps she was merely ready to take a step on a new path,” John suggested.

“Perhaps,” she agreed and let him bring her closer once more. Her chin rested near his shoulder as she considered the possibility.

“You care for her a great deal.”

“Of course, I do. She’s my mother.” Her voice shrank when she continued, “I’m all she has left … here in Montana.” His grip on her tightened a little, like a comforting attempt at a hug. “My brothers are all in opposite corners of the country. Dad’s …” She couldn’t bring herself to say that he was gone.

“I know.”

“You know a lot.”

“Your mother is a welcoming and gregarious person.”

Leah leaned back to catch his gaze. “Is that your ever so polite way of saying she talks a lot?”

John laughed but made no such accusation. He didn’t even nod. “She adores you. Worries about you.”

She leaned against him once more instead of replying.

“She also misses your father terribly.”

Tension shot through her, stiffening her body and the movements it tried to make. To her sudden relief, the song came to a close and she let her hand fall down his arm from his shoulder. “Thank you for the dance, Mr. Seed.” The shift in her demeanor could not be missed. She flashed him a forced smile and gave a shallow curtsy before she turned and took a few steps toward the table where her mother sat.

It took the 15-foot walk for her to realize her mother was not sitting there. Scanning the room, she spotted her quickly on the other side of the room, sitting beside the blonde woman from the Saturday tea she’d interrupted months earlier; the one sharing a table with John and Joseph earlier. Leah breathed a little easier, and let her feet carry her away from the tables. Her pace increased as she neared the open doors of the ballroom. Crossing that threshold, Leah reached a careful jog that carried her through the lobby and out into the courtyard.

Outside, she finally felt like she could breathe. After two deep breaths, she opened her eyes again and walked out into the afternoon sunshine, which had the attention of all the flowers in the garden. Her mind raced almost as fast as her heart. She walked farther from the building toward a concrete bench set among flowerbeds.

 _Who does he think he is? I know she misses him. We all miss him,_ she thought _._ “I miss him,” she whispered. Her eyes went to the sky, toward heaven, where she assumed her dad must be watching over them. “I miss you, Daddy,” she repeated with a quiver in her voice. Tears pricked at her eyes and welled too fast to fight them all back.

Her hand clasped over her mouth with the first sob, as if she could stop it or hold it at bay physically. It wracked her, folding her over herself.

“Leah.” His quiet voice brimmed with concern.

Her head snapped to her right, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. John’s eyes didn’t hold pity, but sympathy as he held out the handkerchief.

“I did not intend to upset you.”

She could do nothing but stare up at him, unblinking, not breathing. Afraid any movement at that moment would shatter her. His movement was slow and careful, as he sat beside her on the concrete bench. When he pressed the soft cloth into her open hand, he squeezed it tightly.

“I know how you feel. Well, at least in part. My family was separated when I was young. My brothers were all I had left, and they were stripped from me. Though I know that loss cannot compare to yours. After all, we’ve found one another again, been reunited. That …” He could tell by the tears streaming down her cheeks that she didn’t need him to confirm the fact that there could be no such reinstatement for her own family.

Her gaze fell to their hands, his still holding onto hers and pressing the soft cotton against her palm. Suddenly, it felt okay to not be the strong one for once. Her free hand muffled another sob as her shoulders hunched forward. She curled around herself, like somehow every other fiber in her being could protect the broken heart of a little girl that just missed her dad.

John didn’t try to shush her, and he didn’t walk away. He didn’t try to apologize her pain away. Nor did he abandon her there to face her emotions on her own; his hand moved over her back as he pulled her toward him. Somehow, she managed to get his handkerchief between the two of them, before she buried her face against his chest. He became her shield in that moment, her place to hide, the thing that muffled her sobs, and soaked up tears that had been threatening to break free for months and months, but always ended up stomped back down because the time wasn’t right. Of course, a part of her knew this wasn’t the time either, but the flood was too heavy to hold back on her own anymore. His embrace, however, that remained solid and constant as her emotions tore through her defenses.

Minutes trickled by, like the flow of her tears. As Leah calmed, his hold on her only eased a hair, enough to allow her to pull away if she chose, but she didn’t. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered into the lapel of his coat.

“No need to be,” he insisted, his voice quiet and so close to her ear.

She sniffled and brushed her face over the cotton in her hands. “I don’t usually sob into strangers’ coats at public holiday celebrations,” she told him, her cheeks burning from the mixture of tears and embarrassment.

“This is a rarity for me, too,” he admitted. “I don’t usually make pretty girls cry.”

A rough barking laugh escaped her, and she looked up at him. “It wasn’t you.”

John smiled at her and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Would it be cruel to admit that I said it just to try and make you smile again?”

Leah just stared at him. She was only minimally aware of the caress of his fingertips on her cheek, or the way their movement seemed to coax the two of them closer in the tiniest of increments. His eyes didn’t leave hers when his lips brushed against hers ethereally. She almost wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined the sensation, but then he did it a second time. His blue eyes only broke her gaze when Leah tipped her head upward and let her own eyes drift closed.

Her fist tightened on his lapel, clinging to him like a dream that could fade away with that falling sensation that always woke her in the middle of the night. His warm hand covered her cheek while his tongue burned against her lips. When she parted them, John rushed forward, filling her. Leah clutched at the back of his neck. She never wanted the frenzy of their kiss to end; she wanted to be consumed by it.

It broke far too soon. John held her close, pressing his forehead against hers hard as he gasped like he’d been held underwater too long. She noticed his eyes were still closed when she blinked hers open. Her fingers brushed down his long neck.

“John.” It was the only thing she could say. This wasn’t her style—she was not the girl who cried for anyone, let alone the type of girl, who used grief as a jumping off point to a make out session with a man she just met.

He licked his lips and his hold gradually loosened. Finally, his eyes met hers again. But neither of them said anything more. They just studied one another as their embrace unfurled. It continued like that the rest of the afternoon, the two of them separating incrementally from one another.

After escorting her back inside, he waited for her as she tried to disguise evidence of her emotional breakdown in the ladies’ room. They dared another dance, the two-step far faster than the first kept them both moving and bore no risk that their lips might find one another again. His brother Joseph called him to his side not long after. Even from opposite sides of the room, neither John nor Leah could maintain the separation—shy glances and bright smiles flashed across the space as they moved in separate circles.

The crowd started to trickle out of the hotel.

“Leah, dear,” Ruthie Rook said leaning toward her daughter.

“You all right, Mama?”

“Of course, just a little,” she sighed, “tired.”

“I’ll get the truck and pick you up at the front,” Leah replied.

“Thank you, dear.”

Leah pressed a kiss to her mother’s temple before she rose. As she walked across the room, she fished her keys from the small clutch she brought. Her eyes scanned the room but didn’t find the face she was looking for. _Even so_ , she reminded herself.

The gravel drive shifted under her careful steps across the parking lot. Their space wasn’t horribly far, but after several hours in heels, her feet were more susceptible to the discomfort of the uneven surface. When she reached her truck, she was internally scolding herself for not having brought a change of shoes.

“Leaving without saying goodbye.”

The voice caught her by surprise but brought a smile to her face. She hadn’t heard anyone following her and she should have. John laughed when her keys fell into the light crushed rocks.

“I looked for you, but you weren’t in the ballroom,” she said.

He crouched to grab her keys. “I had something to check on,” he admitted. He rose to tower above her in a motion that was smooth as silk. The gravity of him, pulled her in.

She couldn’t have kept the smile off her face if she tried. “Bye, John,” she told him, making up for the accused infraction.

He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like the way that sounds.”

Leah laughed. “Really?”

He shook his head. “Too final. Especially when I’d like to see you again.”

She could feel the heat rush to her cheeks as she smiled. “I’d like that, too.”

He mirrored it, seemingly pleased with her admission. “Then I think you should give me your phone number,” he whispered, leaning in closer.

“I could,” she teased. Her hands rested against the plane of his chest.

“Going to make me beg.”

“I’m not that cruel.” Her fingers tugged at the pressed fabric, and she got exactly what she wanted. His lips on hers again. The softness of this kiss rivaled the ravenous nature of the first. The two of them pressed and curled around one another like two vines fighting for the same space. When it broke, Leah met his gaze and rattled off her phone number.

John blinked at her in surprise. “One more time.” She repeated it, then he did.

“You got it.”

Again, they peeled themselves out of a tight embrace. John handed over her keys and opened the truck door for her once she unlocked the vehicle

She looked at him one last time, then said her number again. John grinned. “Can I call you tonight?”

“I have a three-hour drive back to Helena.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Leah smiled, the blush brightening on her cheeks. “Yeah. But I won’t answer if I’m driving or passed out.”

John shrugged, “I’ll just keep calling until you answer.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. Touching his cheek, she leaned toward him and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. “I’ll talk to you later, John.” She looked into his eyes. “That better?”

“Much,” he agreed. Another kiss fell on her lips, before he stepped back and closed her door. He winked at her and pointed toward the front of the hotel.

Leah gave him a little wave and started the truck. John followed and ended up opening the passenger door for her mother as well. “Happy Mother’s Day, Mrs. Ruthie.”

“Thank you, John.”

He smiled at Leah again, flashing her a wink, before he closed the door and tapped the side of her truck.

“Such a sweet young man,” Ruthie said as they pulled out of the parking lot.

Leah hazarded a glance in the rear-view mirror. “Yeah, seems like a decent guy.”

Ruthie didn’t say anything else, but her daughter didn’t miss the smile on her mother’s face. Leah Rook just let it go. _So, what if her mother set this whole thing up? She could have done so much worse_ , Leah thought. Hell, a part of her was just itching to get back on the road, get home, so that when her phone rang, she’d be able to answer it right away.


End file.
